Soreda & Estonanto, The Buhatan River Ecoadventure: A Case Study

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Asia Pacific Journal of
The Buhatan River Ecoadventure: A Case Multidisciplinary Research
Study Vol. 5 No.3, 71-78
August 2017 Part II
Cyra Mae R. Soreda1, Aldrin John J. Estonanto2 P-ISSN 2350-7756
Sorsogon State College, Sorsogon City, Philippines E-ISSN 2350-8442
1
cyramaesoreda@gmail.com , aldrinestonanto@gmail.com 2 www.apjmr.com

Date Received: April 17, 2017; Date Revised: August 8, 2017

Abstract - This explanatory study focused on the ecotourism project in Buhatan, Sorsogon,
Philippines. It highlighted the potentials of ecotourism as a developmental tool for biodiversity
conservation, economic, and social development. It sought to determine the implications of having
ecotourism, who or what sector(s) would best benefit from ecotourism and what are the things needed to
be done to maximize the potentials of ecotourism. While qualitative design was employed, triangulation
was used to reduce the risk of bias and inaccuracies the analysis of data. Findings revealed the common
implications of ecotourism in Buhatan such as job opportunities, fostering cooperation, balanced
economic and environmental activities, discipline and inter-sector linkages which profits most the
boatmen, culinary group members and cooperative. The study concluded that the ecotourism in Buhatan
has a potential in promoting economic and social development, and environmental conservation could
benefit the community as a whole if private-public sector linkages and active participation of the
community members are improved. It was recommended to include the tourists‟ perception about the
ecotourism project in the data gathering procedure since it would provide useful insights on the
implications of ecotourism to its target clients
Keywords: ecotourism, establishment, sustainability, economic and social development, ecoadventure

INTRODUCTION case. The implications of having ecotourism on

This study focused on the rapidly growing form of
tourism known as ecotourism, emphasizing on the
nature-based experience of the subject has to offer.
The case study used the term ecotourism to
emphasized a developmental tool for biodiversity
conservation, to highlight the potential of ecotourism
in Buhatan as an economic activity that will contribute
to the sustainable economic and social development of
the area and to the environmental and preservation
while ensuring the participation of local residents and
other stakeholders in the process and provide feasible
suggestions to improve ecotourism.
Ecotourism is linked with many other sectors of
the economy, although to the extent that tourism
interests are not understand or focused on. Anyone
who may come across this study can understand the
perks and challenges that go along with ecotourism in
Buhatan Eco- river and the role of each member of the
community, whether directly or indirectly involved in
their project, in attaining the ecotourism goal:
sustainability.
Case studies focusing primarily on Ecotourism,
specifically as a developmental tool, were chosen to
guide the study and find the relevance to the present
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Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 5, No. 3, August 2017 (Part II)
various sectors were identified from case studies
selected. Then, theme by theme, theories and research
that applied to the present case were presented to
ensure the relevance to the present case study.
The Come on Safari with Us (The Ultimate
Luxury Safari with the Maasi) was a case study
conducted by the Maasi Wilderness Conservation
Trust (MCWT) with their ecotourism partner, Camp
ya Kanzi [1]. This study emphasized how ecotourism
in Maasi contributed to promoting the works of
natives of the place like the lodges use in the Camp.
The research was done in partnership with the Maasi
community of Kuku Group Ranch proving that Camp
yaKanzi can give all the luxury without damaging the
environment tourists come to immerse themselves in
and most of all, support MCWT mission on preserving
the Maasi ecosystem and sustaining economic benefit
for the local community.
Another similar study entitled Case Study:
Tourism and Biodiversity (Ecotourism—a Sustainable
Development Tool, a Case for Belize) was prepared by
Weizsman Pat in courtesy of Ministry of Tourism and
Youth Constitution on January 2001 presented in
order to provide an in-depth view on the ecotourism in
 Soreda & Estonanto, The Buhatan River Ecoadventure: A Case Study
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Belize as a development tool for biodiversity planning study. With these themes, the researchers were guided
and conservation for Belize.[2] It focused on the to explain the case along with the data was collected.
nature-based experiences offered in Belize mainland, In order to achieve the purpose of this case study,
with its national tourism policy and direction while this was guided by the following research questions:
not replacing the traditional (sun, sea, and sand) (1) What are the implications of Buhatan Eco- River
tourism but rather complemented it especially in to the community? ; (2) Who or what sector(s) would
providing job opportunities for local townsfolk in best benefit from Buhatan Ecotourism- River?; and (3)
hotel, transport, food industry, telecommunication and What are the things needed to be done to maximize
other areas. The study also touched the vital role of the potentials of ecotourism?
different sectors in promoting sustainability through
ecotourism and how sound laws and policies can METHODS
strengthen the potentials and success of the project. In This section discusses how the data were
the end, it provided the existing planning and policy in collected, analyzed and interpreted in order to
tourism in Belize and some proposed strategies and strengthen the evidences for the insights as well as the
solutions for improving biodiversity conservation and claims made for this case.
planning in the tourism planning sector.
One more study entitled Ecotourism in Palawan: Participants
A Case Study that was conducted by Nelson Palad The researchers sought to have most of the
Devanadera[3]concluded that ecotourism participants that have direct relation to the ongoing
benchmarking in Northern Palawan can provide a ecotourism project in Buhatan, Sorsogon City as key
good opportunity to promote sustainable development. persons for the interviews and collecting archival
However, there should be a balance in the economic records. Some of the participants were common
activities and environment protection to ensure this, residents of the community of Buhatan to get their
an Environmental Management System should perceptions on the project considering that they don’t
function effectively and inter-sector linkages must be have direct relation to the project. Appointments were
mobilized and for the people to experience the made for interviewing the key participants for the
benefits of ecotourism, local manpower should be study while other participants were selected randomly
developed first. and interviewed at their convenience. The researchers
Lastly, the research Ecotourism in Bohol interviewed seven (7) participants, three of which
Province: The Philippines studied by Rene Lopez were key persons for this research considering that
Relampangos[4]is founded in the idea that tourism has they have a direct role to play for the ecotourism
been one of the world’s largest industries accounting project in Buhatan, Sorsogon while the other four
for about 6% of the world’s gross national product participants were common residents of the barangay in
(GNP) as early as 1993. Relampangos put emphasis order to get perceptions regarding the ecotourism
on the changing roles of business and industry, project in the grass-root level.
community and government in order to deliver to the
society the goal of tourism—sustainability. Data Collection Procedure
This present case study about the ecotourism Since case study often benefits from multiple
happening in Buhatan, Sorsogon took its form, guided sources of data, the researchers used distinct sources
by these researches and their theories. With these, the such as interviews and archival records (financial
researchers were able to identify the balance economic reports, log-ins, and other paper files). For the
and environmental protection activities in determining interviews, appointments with the subject participants
the implications of ecotourism for the present case. were made while other participants were interviewed
The studies provided an overview of the common purposively and by convenience. The interviews
impacts of ecotourism to different sectors in the followed a flexible format using the research
community. Simultaneously, it gave the researchers an questions as the guide. Collecting data about rival
idea on how the inter-sector linkages and sound laws explanations or stand were also entertained during the
and policy regarding ecotourism can affect the open-ended interviews. The data collected were then
sustainability provided by ecotourism and be used to recorded. As for archival records, the researchers
propose strategies and activities in maximizing the asked permission to obtain a copy of the records from
potential of the project which is the end goal of this the resource persons in different concerned agencies.
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 Soreda & Estonanto, The Buhatan River Ecoadventure: A Case Study
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Beforehand, the researchers sent letter to the barangay analysis is the suggestions that can be made based on
council for the permission of the conduct of the study. the data gathered.
The approval of the barangay captain signaled the
researchers to carry out the data gathering procedure.
Data obtained were treated with utmost confidentiality
upon the agreement of the resource persons and the
researchers.

Data Analysis
Since this case study utilized an explanatory
framework, guided by research questions, it made
used of analytic analysis in form of descriptions. The
study used emergent framework to group the data and
then the relationship were identified. In order to
present the analysis, narratives and framework
approach were employed. Pattern matching and
explanation building techniques were also used to
support the data. Summaries and self-memos were
also used as tools for the analysis. Triangulation of
evidence from multiple sources was also applied to
establish converging lines of evidence which make the
findings as robust as possible and reduce risks for bias
and inaccuracies. These criteria in data analysis
strengthen the data and claim for this study.
The Solution
This study made use of an embedded, single- case
study design in targeting a community that was
establishing ecotourism as one of its economic
development tool through identifying its implications
and providing insights on the common problems
regarding ecotourism and ways of addressing these
problems. The empirical data collected were utilized
to gain deeper understanding on the subject while
targeting the community residents and officials as
participants of the study as they could provide the
necessary information. It also focused on the grass-
root level of the society to give the locals “voice” in
which to present their perceptions on the ecotourism
development and to avoid influences from “big
people” in the society, hence, this study really
centered on who really benefits from the ecotourism
project. The study used two variables as a unit of
analysis. The first was the implications of ecotourism
as cited by the participants and the second was the
common problems the participants cited with regards
to ecotourism in their community and how these
problems can be addressed.
The design on making the final deliverable can be
illustrated on the figure below wherein the first unit of
analysis will be the implication and the second unit of
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Figure 1. Embedded, single case study design
Process for Developing the Solution
The researchers involved community residents
and local officials during the interview to provide
their perceptions regarding ecotourism and also
insights about the organizational structure of
ecotourism and its relationship to the community.
Empirical data were collected in the attempt to
identify patterns that exist in the community as well as
to provide a deeper understanding on the subject,
ecotourism.
The researchers interviewed different persons
from the community of Buhatan, Sorsogon since April
6, 2015 when the Buhatan River Ecotourism
Ecoadventure was first launched by the local
government of Buhatan as its major tourism project.
The participants include persons like the barangay
chairman, person-in-charge for tourism, president for
the cooperative handling the project, as well as four
residents of the barangay who all provided their
opinions and knowledge about the ongoing project.
The researchers found out during the process of
making the study that residents were reluctant at first
to share their honest perspective about the ecotourism
community project in their barangay that it took some
more questions or time for them to confidently share
their standpoints. This situation led to the decision of
the researcher to employ triangulation as a process of
gathering information from different resources to
reduce the risks of bias and inaccuracies associated
with getting info from only one source.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Participants
The researchers interviewed seven (7)
participants, three (3) of which were key persons for
 Soreda & Estonanto, The Buhatan River Ecoadventure: A Case Study
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this research considering that they have a direct role to in charged for preparing the food ordered by the
play for the ecotourism project in Buhatan, Sorsogon tourist that are usually for their lunch or dinner. This
while the other four (4) participants were common was confirmed by the report provided by the president
residents of the barangay in order to get perceptions of cooperative handling the ecotourism project for
regarding the ecotourism project in the grass-root Buhatan River wherein just from July to September
level. The first part of the interview includes the 2015, the total income of the boatmen, in general, was
name, occupation, and age of the participant since this Php 42, 350.00 while there had been a total income
basic information may elicit diversity of opinions for the tourism council and OD for Php 6, 600.00 and
among the participant. The other half of the interview Php 13, 300.00 respectively. There was also an
was guided by the research questions in determining amount of Php 3, 267.50 given to the barangay. As
the implications, problems and solutions associated one of the key persons told the researcher:“Dati, yang
with ecotourism in Buhatan, Sorsogon based on the mga bangkeros, umaasa lang sila sa huli nilang isda
perceptions of the participants. The key persons were: na madalas wala kapag masama ang panahon o
Edwin Divina, the chairman of Brgy. Buhatan and one maulan. Ngayon, basta may tourist na darating, may
of the persons-in-charge for the Buhatan River sigurado silang income „pagbumiyahe sila (In the
Ecoadventure Project; NenitaAlpas, one of the past, those boatmen only rely on the catch (fish) that
counselors of Brgy. Buhatan, Sorsogon and person-in- are rare when the weather is bad or it’s raining. Now,
charge for Brgy.Tourism and; Myrna Fulo, president as long as there are tourists visiting the place, they
of Buhatan River Ecoadventure Cooperative (the have a sure income if they’re the one assigned to the
organization in-charged for the project). The key cruise).”
persons were interviewed during their scheduled time. At this time, the key persons admitted that
Other participants were: Analiza Deliosa, former although it is a source of income, it is still limited to
Samahan ng Kababaihan culinary group member; 15 boatmen since there are only 10 kayaks (donated
Lourdes Dato, 62 years old and nipa maker; Katrina by the City government Mayor Sally Lee), four
Lizano, a midwife; and Efegenio Dato, 68 years old, a floating cottages namely: Regina 1 & 2 (donated by
retired government employee. The resident- ABS-CBN foundation), Lagrimas (donated by a navy
participants were interviewed by chance, during their officer), and Archangel (donated by a priest) who both
most convenient time. wished to be unknown donors, and a reserved floating
cottage that the cooperative rents if ever there is a
Implications of Ecotourism in Barangay Buhatan, need. As one of the key persons said, more fisher
Sorsogon City folks will be able to get additional income if only
While there are many advantages and there are more boats and floating cottages to be used.
disadvantages that one can name when it comes to This also limits their capacity on accommodating
ecotourism, participants gave common answers when large number of guests at a time. Role of the tourist
asked what are the implications of having ecotourism guides were also given to cooperative members and
project on their barangay. other officials who know the place and the project’s
features in order save money and also due to lack of
Additional Source of Income resource persons. This resonates Ghimire[5]statement
All of the participants agreed that having the that local communities not only lack financial
ecotourism project in their barangay had provided resources to begin tourism schemes but also have
additional source of income to the community difficulties in meeting high level managerial capacity
residents, particularly for the fisher folks and women building to manage these projects. Another key person
who have skills in cooking. The barangay council, in added:
cooperation with the Buhatan River Ecoadventure “Niyan, ang kababaihan, imbes magtsirismisan,
Cooperative, made two groups for these people—the may pagkakaabalahan na sinda na makadanun pa sa
boatmen (bangkeros) and the culinary group (women kanira magka-income (Today, women here in our
who are member of the Samahan ng Kababaihan). The place, instead of spending their time gossiping, can
boatmen, as discussed by the key persons include 15 have something to do where they can get an income).”
men tasked to row the boat or the floating cottage for One of the resident-participants, however, shared
the tourists during their river cruise. On the other that although the ecotourism project offers additional
hand, the culinary group, consisting of 41 women, are source of income for culinary group members, this
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 Soreda & Estonanto, The Buhatan River Ecoadventure: A Case Study
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opportunity may be limited since that way it works, Promoting Environmental Awareness and
culinary members were assigned of a specific dish in Protection
the menu offered to the tourists and when a tourist All of the participants agreed that with
orders a specific dish from the menu at the start of the establishing ecotourism, the environmental awareness
cruise, one culinary group member assigned to that on their place had increased especially when it comes
dish will be contacted to prepare the food, using her to maintaining the cleanliness of the river and assuring
own money first. She will just get her fund plus its that everyone is cooperating when it comes to waste
increase after the tourist had paid for the food. So if management by not dumping in the river. The
you don’t have the money to prepare the food, then ecotourism project for the Buhatan River didn’t have
you won’t be able to have the additional income. This an easy start as the river needs rehabilitation since it
issue had been cleared by one of the key persons in had been dumped with different kinds of wastes.
one of the interviews when she shared that it was However, the community of Buhatan made it sure that
really the situation before since the project is just the natural beauty of the river was not to be destroyed.
starting and there is no extra fund for food One of the key persons said:
preparation. But now, since there had already been a “Walang ginalaw sa natural beauty ng river;
profit, the cooperative can give the budget for the food tinanggal lang ang mga basura galing sa Sorsogon
to the culinary member assigned to prepare it then Bay at dito sa Buhatan (The natural beauty of the
later, when the tourist pay for the food, the budget will river wasn’t touched, we just took away the wastes
be remitted back to the cooperative as a standing fund coming from Sorsogon Bay and here in Buhatan).”
while the income will be given to the one who There had been ordinances issued by the barangay
prepared the food. council to put a stop on illegal activities surrounding
While all of the participants were aware of the the Buhatan River and dumping of wastes in the river.
additional source of income that comes with this This action is actually supported by Pat [2] suggested
ecotourism project, most of the community residents strategies in having a successful ecotourism by having
shared their sentiments that while it is not a bad thing sound laws and policy regarding environment
to have this ecotourism since it really provides preservation. Two of the residents said that as part of
additional source of income, the people who can obeying the policies and ordinances issued by the
experience this opportunity are only those boatmen barangay council on the effort of maintaining the
and women who are members of the culinary group, cleanliness of the river, some residents have to give up
not really all of the residents of the barangay. their other source of income like the pig pens near the
One of the key persons seems aware of this river or they have to have a septic tank so that the
sentiment, said: wastes won’t go to the river. This is actually an
“Kaya ako, ini-encourage ko ang mga ka- evidence of the sound implementation of policies and
barangay ko na kung mayun sinda maski nano na laws regarding the environment protection and
produkto na gusto ipabakal, ikadi lang dini saamun conservation which is a very important factor for the
kay kung may gusto magkuha or mag-order, sustainability of ecotourism.
ipapaaram mi man sa kanira kay sayang baga san In addition to these efforts, the key persons also
income (That’s why I encourage my neighbors to shared that there had been different activities like
share to us whatever product they may want to sell so planting of 20,000 Mangroves along the Buhatan
that whenever someone buy or wants to order the River and Bantay-Suba(river guard) program to
product, we will notify them because we they can gain ensure the preservation and conservation of the river.
income out of it).” The community itself is giving conscious effort on
This strengthens the statement of protecting their ecotourism for sustainability by
Devanedara[3]who postulated that local manpower protecting the environment.
must be develop to capture the benefits of tourism.
What seems to be the issue of not experiencing this Improving Community Linkages and Inter-Sector
benefit of ecotourism is not the absence of the Linkages
opportunity itself but the ways to embrace the Establishing ecotourism in Buhatan with its
opportunities for additional source of income are not pioneer project on Buhatan River Ecoadventure does
visible to common residents. not only offer additional income to local residents but
also improve the linkages of within the community
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 Soreda & Estonanto, The Buhatan River Ecoadventure: A Case Study
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and its linkages across the different sectors and “Di mo man mahahali na minsan may pasaway
institutions. talaga na matapok man gihapon basura sa river
All of the residents had been made aware that maski aram na bawal pero ang publicity san project
there were a cooperative organized to act as the tapos makita niya na sya nalang an di nagsusunod,
steering committee for the ecotourism project namely: masunod man yun. Mararaw-ay man siya sa sadiri
Buhatan River Ecoadventure Cooperative and other nya kaya mapundo siya (It’s really hard to make
groups such as the group for the boatmen (bangkeros) everyone obey the ordinance at one. There will be
and culinary group for the women (Samahan ng someone who will still dump in the river though they
Kababaihan), and also a Buhatan Tourism council was know that it is prohibited but the publicity gained by
organized. The good thing is the cooperative is open the project and he will realize that he is the only one
to all who would want to join the group and is not obeying the ordinance, he will follow. He will be
prioritizing residents of barangay who want to join. It ashamed of himself so he will now follow).”
was also through linkages that the cooperative was The ecotourism project in Buhatan as a
able to gain donors for the floating cottages and community-based project really needs the cooperation
kayaks. As reported by the key persons and one of the and discipline each member can offer to attain its
resident-participants who had a connection with the development goals.
Bantay-suba program, it was the City Environment
Organization (CENRO) that is in charge for Promoting Ecologically Low-Impact Experience
deputizing river guards and giving them salaries. Like the Maasi community that is promoting
The community of Buhatan believes that with that ecologically low-impact experience to the visitors,
through helping each other and sourcing out, the Buhatan River Ecoadventure also offers a variety of
project will have a better outcome. This is also put activities like kayaking, floating cottage experience,
into focus by Murphy [6]as cited by Timothy[7] and fireflies and birds watching, and fishing that are all
Tuson[8] that tourism relies on the goodwill and safe and ecology-friendly. It stresses the idea
cooperation of the people. Although there were presented by Devenadera[3] that economic activities
struggles making the people cooperate right away, the and environment protection must be balanced in order
participants agreed that the first year of the project had to sustain ecotourism. This only implies that one can
been a success because people are cooperating and have a rich experience close to nature without
ready to help just like what it share by three of the harming the environment. In fact, as the key persons
participants that in making the restaurant for the shared, most of their visitors are tourists who already
project, the people and members of the cooperative experience the adventure but would want to do it
really lend a hand to each other in other to minimize again with other people. Just from the opening of this
the costs considering that budget were limited. ecotourism project, April, to July 2015, they already
As stated by four of the participants, they have had 1, 436 recorded tourist visits.
seen many people coming to help in their community
and many of the members of their community putting Who profits then?
efforts on participating in the project. This was also When participants were asked about who or what
shared by Relampangos[9]on his case study that sector(s) do they think profits or benefits the most
sustainability offered by ecotourism may be achieved from the Buhatan River Ecoadventure project, all of
through the efforts of business, tourism industry, the participants agreed that at this time, the boatmen
community, and government. In fact, the Buhatan and culinary group members as well as the
barangay council wants to make partnership with the cooperative benefit the most from the project. This
education sector of the community for training tourist may be attributed to the idea that only those who have
guides in the near future. direct relations to the project can benefit from it as the
project only provides menial jobs for the community
Fostering Discipline members and considering that it is still on the process
All of the resident-participants admitted that of establishing the industry on the community. This
although they may not get an additional income from resonates the concept revealed by Tuson[10] that
the ecotourism project, they are positive to it since it ecotourism projects usually can only be seen to
promotes discipline. This was affirmed by one of the benefit only a segment of the community, this being
key persons’ own words: the committee members. However, one of the key
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persons also added that since they are using a suggested giving the people active participation to the
community-based approach on this project, it is project by providing them fund and capacity building
actually designed to benefit even the grass-root level. for locals so that they can run and manage their own
The benefit of the ecotourism, like other industries, ecotourism project. This can be also done by
takes time to be seen in all level. Given the time, these informing the people on what are the direct benefits
benefits may extend on its context. they can get from the project.

Suggestions for Maximizing the Potentials of CONCLUSION

Ecotourism
Ecotourism in Buhatan, Sorsogon still has a lot of
time ahead to improve since it is just beginning to
establish the industry on its place. This case study
does not aim to provide solutions for the problems
associated with the project but rather the researcher
seek to offer two suggestions in order to maximize the
potentials of the project based on the insights gained
on this study and in the literatures that guided this
study.
Strengthen private-public sector linkages
The ecotourism project actually has good linkages
among the community members and local
government. However, it needs to improve or
strengthen the private-public linkages to encourage
investments especially for improvements of the
facilities and dissemination or promotion of the
ecotourism project through various channels that still
remain as challenges to the steering committee of the
project. As Devanadera[3] emphasized, private-public
sector relationship is an advantage in ensuring the
sustainability of ecotourism.
Give the local active roles in the project
While it is observable that community members
are aware of the ongoing project on ecotourism in
their barangay, most of the resident-participants stated
that they were just called to be informed of the
ordinances that will be implemented in connection
with the ecotourism project and those who are obliged
to give up their source of income like the “skylab” (a
method of catching fish by placing nets across an area
on the river used by the local residents in Buhatan)
and pig pen owners were promised compensations or
alternative source of income, which the residents
agreed, they don’t really have an active role to play
for the implementation of the project. This was also
reported by France [11] which discusses manipulative
and passive participation as being characteristics when
there is pretense of participation and secondly when
local members where only informed of what is
decided. To address this concern, Irandu [12]
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Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 5, No. 3, August 2017 (Part II)
In view of the data gathered and analyzed for this
case, the researchers concluded that the ecotourism as
a development tool for Buhatan, Sorsogon has a
potential promoting sustainable development as it
provides opportunities for additional source of
income, fostering balanced economic activities and
environmental protection, as well as discipline among
people and inter-sector linkages among the
community members and other sectors. These factors
as discussed by Devanadera[13] will lead to the
success of ecotourism. With this ecotourism, fish folks
or boatmen (bangkeros), culinary group members and
the steering committee are said to benefit the most but
it is hoped that as time goes by and as the
establishment of this industry is improved, the
benefits will be felt by everyone, including the grass-
root level. However, for successful implementation,
private-public sector relationship as well as the active
participation of the local community members should
be promoted as stressed by Fennel [14] that
ecotourism is generally assumed to involve high
degree of commitment and involvement among local
communities thus it is important to have them play
active roles in the projects.
This case study focused only on the initial effects
of the ecotourism project in Buhatan, Sorsogon
specifically on the Buhatan River Ecoadventure and
does not deal with other form of ecotourism in the
place if ever there should be other forms existing on
the community nor on its effects outside the
community of Buhatan, Sorsogon. It does not also
include perceptions of the tourists regarding the
ecotourism project as this study was conducted during
the off-peak season of the project and was given a
limited time. The researchers also only used purposive
and incidental sampling to reduce the task in sampling
collection and the time it could take.
The researchers would want to suggest to future
researchers who would want to build on this case to
include the tourists’ perceptions about the ecotourism
project in the data gathering since it will provide
useful insights on the implications of ecotourism to its
target clients. Further study may also include local
 Soreda & Estonanto, The Buhatan River Ecoadventure: A Case Study
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
elites as a focus group for discussion as to how these [6] Murphy, P., 1985: Tourism, A Community Approach,
influence ecotourism project in the context of
community development. It will also be beneficial for
future researchers to use more participants on this case
to gain more insights and rival explanations if such
explanation really exists among the participants. This
would be more effective if done using more
systematic sampling schemes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The researchers would like to express their profound
gratitude to Dr. Modesto D. Detera, Dr. Helen R. Lara, Dr.
Ryan V. Dio, Dr. Gerry S. Digo and Prof. Rosalina H.
Enalpe- respective president, campus administrator, director
of research, dean of Education Department and principal of
the senior high school program of Sorsogon State College
for their support and encouragement which enabled the
authors to finish this humble work.
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Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 5, No. 3, August 2017 (Part II)